


Banri's Turning Point

by Ange_Screams



Series: MDSkul Shenanigans: A JuBan Medical School Alternate Universe [6]
Category: A3! (Anime), A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Medical School, Angst and Feels, Burned Out Gifted Kid Banri, Character Study, Gen, It's Mostly Banri's Angst, M/M, Neglected Banri, Neglectful Parents of Banri Settsu, Oh, and Juza being a big bro, mentions of drug use, of some sort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29802246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ange_Screams/pseuds/Ange_Screams
Summary: Banri's life wasn't always Super Ultra Easy Mode. There was actually a time he was genuinely proud of his skills and some people were proud of him as well. Though, his gifted-ness didn't age well: A Banri Character Study in this AU.
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza & Settsu Banri, Hyoudou Juuza/Settsu Banri
Series: MDSkul Shenanigans: A JuBan Medical School Alternate Universe [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964539
Kudos: 19





	Banri's Turning Point

**Author's Note:**

> Mentions of drug use at the dinner part. Hinted (I think mentioned should be it?) that Banri did stuff too. Slight angst. It's also me projecting.

When living within campus premises, weekends are usually greeted with the crowing of the roosters or students with weekend classes. Accompanied with blue skies, a cup of coffee or tea, and no exams for the next week, it’s the best day to wind down and prepare for next week’s battle.

Even during weekends, Juza chooses to wake up early. Not as early as his usual four-am-weekday body clock, though. But it seems someone woke up like it’s a school day and is already about to leave.

_ “You’re up and about so early. Got a date or something?”  _ Juza asks monotonously, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

_ “If I do have a date, what’s it to you, huh?”  _ Banri retorts, lacing up his shoes,  _ “Parents called me home for some dinner. Might as well take the opportunity to get some more stuff from my room,”  _ he continues.

Juza just hums in acknowledgment and bids his dorm mate farewell as he passes by him on his way to their kitchen.

_ “See ya tomorrow then. Or better yet, see ya never. Don’t come back.”  _

_ “Piss off. I’ll come back ‘cause I still have to beat you.” _

_ “Whatever, just go,”  _ with that, Juza shoos off Banri to get going.

_ “Now, yogurt or fruit crepe...?” _

* * *

Unlike Juza, who lives in the next city, Banri’s place is about five stations away from the university, a city or two away. He has the whole morning to get there and he’s needed by dinner, so he takes the scenic route to the station and passes by his old college building.

The building of the College of Veterinary Science and Medicine is bustling with college freshmen, sitting on the benches of its open hallway. Hearing their conversations about their upcoming quiz on the anatomy and physiology of farm animals in the upcoming Monday, he snickers and remembers the time he tackled that same topic. His smile drops shortly after, as those times were not always as nostalgic as they seem to be. 

He shakes the memory from his mind and walks through the hallway. Heads are turning at the sight of him, and he smirks at the attention. He keeps walking until he bumps into someone coming from the adjacent hall. 

_ “Oh, I’m sorry!—Ange-nee! Why are you here?”  _

Of all the people, he bumps into his senior. 

_ “Banri! Hi! What are you doing here?”  _ she flashes him with a bright smile he would rarely see pointed towards or because of him. 

_ “Just passing by. I’m on my way home to get some stuff,”  _ he replies, as he helps her with the files that fell off her grasp.

_ “Oh, then you should get going! You still have a long way to go. Let’s catch up someday, okay? Bring that room mate of yours too. Thanks also. It was nice seeing you!”  _ with that she runs towards the side of the hallway full of students and calls out names. 

So, Banri continues walking down the hall, passing by the laboratories, lecture rooms, and the museum filled with animal bones, reminding him of the mini-museum his dorm has. 

_ “At least it’s not as bizarre as Hyodo’s collection back at the dorm,”  _ he thinks out loud and continues walking.

Upon reaching the bus stop, he doesn’t wait long. He gets in, seats himself by the window, and watches the surroundings blur. He reaches his first stop after two hours, which is also lunchtime. So, he decides to eat at his favorite place ever since he was a child. 

A quite popular family restaurant is where Banri would often be seen wide-eyed and grinning, where he would show off his stellar achievements to his equally doting parents.

_ “Mama! Look! I got a perfect score on all our quizzes today! Teacher even gave me plenty of star stamps! See?!” Little Banri shows his mom the papers and an arm filled with stamped stars saying “Good job!” A small ruffle of the hair and a tight hug was given along with some praises.  _

_ “That’s my Ban-chan! So smart and great!”  _

He orders the kid’s meal he would use to request at his parents and sits at their regular spot at the restaurant, for nostalgia’s sake. He remembers the accompanying toy to be that one from a popular cartoon he used to watch all those years ago.

Another memory plays itself while Banri was eating.

_ “I was chosen to be on the National Quiz Bee Team again this year,” elementary school Banri hands over the proof to his father, which gives a smile at his son’s achievement. _

_ “As expected of our talented Banri. Keep it up, okay?” His usual enthusiastic mother gives him one pat on the head this time around. He’s beginning to feel something stir inside him, and he isn’t sure if it’s good or bad. _

He leaves the place and opts to walk instead of shortening the gap by taking the train. After all, his destination is only a station away. It may be an hour and a half’s worth of walking, but coming in particularly late means he won’t have to spend his time there longer. 

During his walk, he passes by his middle school. Nostalgia takes over and he looks for a particular area on the fence where he used to go through to escape his classes. Going around to the back of the school, he sees that it’s still how he left it, covered in bushes with the soil around it softer than the rest. He smiles at this and continues his walk down memory lane.

_ Although still an achiever in his middle school days, he has lost all motivation to actually try hard for it. Not always, but he would sneak off from his class and miss lectures he would later on perfect in. He would still show these to his parents, but they’ve become less enthusiastic and disinterested, expecting Banri to always get a perfect score.  _

_ He tried to fail an exam once. It ended with a stinging right cheek and a seething father.  _

_ After that, he never tried that method anymore. Instead, he would just sneak off from class and maintain his perfect streak. He still represents his school in national academic competitions, but later on, those events became tiring. Each one he’s joined for he would win—well, he and his school.  _

_ They lost their thrill when Banri wasn’t anymore tested to join, merely chosen. He got sick of it and quit. This gets him deeper into his passiveness. First, it was in academics. Next, he has lost motivation in life in general. _

The usual two and a half hours of the commute from the university to his parents’ house ends up being ten hours due to the scenic routes and side trips. Nonetheless, he arrives just in time for dinner preparations, which he doesn’t really join in. Once he gets to their house, he greets his parents and heads towards his room. 

His childhood room didn’t really change, except for most of his knick-knacks. His gadgets are in one box along with his games. Mangas are in smaller boxes alongside his boxed, school-issued books. He scans the place to see what he could bring and starts choosing and tossing them into his suitcases—which he decides to pull out from under his bed.

Their house helper later calls him down to dinner and heaves a breath. It’s time. 

* * *

A table for six only has three out of its usual four occupants. The atmosphere at the table is heavy and each noise the utensils sound seems to be able to break some sort of wall or ice. Banri’s mom decides to break the ice with something he wished she could’ve found out years ago.

_ "Mind telling us why is this in your things?" _

His father began sternly, throwing a small Ziploc baggie on the center of the dining table. Inside were crushed up dried leaves of some sort.

Banri smirks at this, not caring about his father’s knitted brows and clenched mouth, 

_ "Oh that?"  _ he says, not even a hint of fear in his voice.  _ “Don’t worry about it, I used my own money. None of it will get traced back to you,” _

His father slams his palm on the table and raises his voice. It seems he was trying to keep his tone down for a while now. 

_ "That’s not the point! Do you even know what you’re getting into?!” _

Very opposite from the frazzled state of his parents, Banri kept his cool and answered nonchalantly, 

_ “Yes, actually,” _

Banri’s mother does not speak, but the frustration is apparent in her face. So does Banri’s father, whose top is merely a nudge away from popping off. Neither responded to his words. Banri simply grabbed the baggie and played with it.

_ “Miss Mary Jane and I had a good time a few years ago. She gave me the attention you didn’t,”  _ he narrates, completely oblivious at the murderous glares.  _ “I’m actually surprised how dense you two are, you know? Back in high school, I’d smoke every day, come home baked as fuck and you never cared at all! You only noticed when I’m not even smoking it anymore!” _

_ “Stop turning the story around! You were aware of the consequences and you still did it! You still broke the law! We gave you everything you need, set you up for the best future there is and this is how you repay us?!” _

_ “And you still think you two did a good job looking after me?! Well listen up, bitch, you two failed miserably!” _

It was Banri’s turn to raise his voice. For the first time in twenty-one years, he let out his pent-up emotions to his parents.

His mind flashbacks to when he was a child, all excited to show his parents his achievements. Words of praise and actions of affection were enthusiastically given. He was happy to be getting much love and attention from his parents. It fueled him to work harder. But as he grew up and his education level increased, his parents’ enthusiasm waned. No more pats on the head from father. No more tight hugs from mother. Only empty words of praise, as they’ve grown used to their child being on top. Since then, he began to put less effort into the things he does. Even with the quiz bees, he’s usually so enthusiastic about, they have lost their significance in Banri’s life. 

By the time high school came, he'd become completely passive in life, all the while maintaining his achiever status. His staying at home during the weekdays became a norm. Though, from time to time, he still tried to show his achievements. Their reactions were still the same—empty and generic congratulations and not even meeting him in the eyes as they say it. That same stage, he remembers the activities he did to gain their attention came flashing back into his mind. Petty thieving, illegal drinking, and even the story behind the packet of weed his parents found. 

He remembers exactly how he came home one night, high as a kite and seeing his parents not even question why he looked that way, not even bat an eye on the cloying smell of the substance that clung on his uniform. For a fleeting moment, he sobered up and died inside. It was at that moment that he decided to stop making an effort to get noticed. He threw the bag on his shelf and it stayed there for the next few years until they were found today. 

That’s actually why he chose such a far school for his college. He wants to be as far away as possible from this suffocating house and live his life how he wants it. That four years away from home was such a breather, but eventually, the nest called, he was summoned, and here he is now. Heartbroken in pieces as his parents lost all faith in him.

_ “Is this how you treat your children?! Throwing them aside once you got bored of them showing the same shit all over again?! Think about how much that can fuck up a child!” _ he screamed. His father ends up replying but he immediately cuts him off.

_ “Oh, and this?!”  _ Banri continues, harshly gesturing at the packet,  _ “What you found out was just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve done way worse! Wanna hear all about it?!” _

He did not let his parents reply as he confessed every single criminal act he had done throughout his teenage years, brandishing them as if they were badges of honor. His mother went catatonic with rage, and his father’s anger towards him grew even more.

_ “And whose fault were those, you may ask? How about asking yourselves for once?!” _

As Banri finished his monologue, his father punched him. His mother didn’t even flinch from what her husband did, and it was twisting Banri’s insides more. 

_ “Just as I thought you couldn’t be any more disappointing, you even had the audacity to put the blame on us?! Do you know what could happen to you when your school gets to hear about those things? You’ve ruined your future once, no, twice! You plan on doing it again?!” _

His father gave him a good sucker punch that hurt like a fucking bitch, but he can’t help but smile bitterly at his father’s statement.

_ “If it meant getting you lot to even glance at my direction, sure, I’d love to,” _

There was a minute of silence until his father finally spoke up,

_ “Get out. Stop bringing more shame into this family.” _

_ “Thank fuck for that,” _

Banri drags the chair, looks at his parents in the eyes, and goes to his room. With those words, Banri's spirit completely breaks.

_...All along, they think I’m a disappointment... _

He heads straight to his room, locking his door. Luckily enough, he has already prepared the things he wanted to bring with him. 

As his—hopefully—last act of insolence in that house, he sneaks off from his room and heads to the stop in the cold, gloomy evening.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Despite it being a weekend, Juza decides to peruse their anatomy textbook. It is calming to him that with every word, a sense of familiarity hits him, as if he’s read it before—which is possible as they tackled the subject back in his undergraduate days. A few minutes into his second chapter, he hears the doorknob jiggling, signalling that his roommate is here.

The door opens to him with a huge suitcase and a backpack that seems to be ready to burst.

_ "Jeez. Did you bring your whole room with you?" _ he greets his room mate and takes note of the luggage.

_ "I didn’t ask for your damn opinion," _ The usual spike in his words are replaced with a serious, gloomy tone. Juza takes note of this again. 

Banri’s behavior stirred Juza’s big brother's instinct. It would be the first time he hears this sort of tone from Banri. With living with him for a few months, he is sure that his annoying roommate might have some sort of problem that may cause a huge issue if left unaddressed.

Banri's knit brows are not normal or fitting on his roomie's face so he tries to talk to him.

_ "Oi, did something happen?" _

_ "Piss off. Mind your own business." _

So, he does have a problem. And for some reason, Juza keeps pushing.

_ “So something did happen. Do you want a hug?” _

_ “Fuck you. Didn’t I tell you to mind your damn business?” _

_ “I can’t. You seem to be really bummed out.” _

_ “God, Hyodo, JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!” _

With that small crack in Banri’s persona, Juza subconsciously went into big brother mode. Annoying roommate or no, this is still concerning for him. So, he holds Banri by his shoulders, forces him to sit before their shared kotatsu and insists,

_ "Stop avoiding your damn problems, alright? Okay. For once, I’ll act as your best friend. I’ll listen to you. Bottling up something that heavy is not good for you, and sure as hell I won’t be able to stand you whining and huffing about it,”  _

There was a short pause before Juza let go of Banri and continued.

_ “But if you don’t really want to talk about it, I understand. I’ll just be here if you need me. Let it all out. I won’t judge,”  _

Banri goes wide-eyed at that, and feels his heart skip a beat. 

_ What was that?  _

He masks his surprise with his usual snarky response.

_ “You’re the one who’s acting weird. The fuck are you doing, acting all motherly and shit?”  _ Though really it was a pretty cute contrast in his opinion—  _ wait, what the heck? _

Juza rolls his eyes and pats Banri on the head as an act of comfort.

_ "Fuckin’ jackass. I'll make us some tea.”  _ Juza says, standing up.  _ “Rest up for tonight. You can fix your shit tomorrow morning,” _

Banri surely feels lighter after hearing those words. Also, something else seems to have started to root in his heart as his face heats up after getting a pat on the head and a soft smile from his annoyingly stubborn roommate. 

His thoughts are soon disrupted when his said roommate comes back with some tea, which they sip in comfortable silence. Once that’s done, Juza heads to bed first while Banri changes into more comfortable clothing. 

Closing his eyes, the night’s events play in his head. His fatigue disappears as he realizes five things that happened a couple of hours ago.

One, he finally gave a piece of his mind to the cause of his grievances.

Two, he  _ almost cried  _ in front of his roomie-slash-rival.

Three, said annoying roomie-slash-rival gave him head pats.  _ Fuckin’ head pats.  _ He’s not _ four,  _ goddammit _. _

Four, this person made him tea and he accepted it. It’s not even the good kind—just the cheap konbini ones sold in single sachets. He doesn’t even  _ like  _ tea. Yet he accepted it. He even emptied it out.

Five, the person who is his rival and roommate smiled— _ smiled _ —at him. It was a nice and genuine smile too. He didn’t even know that he could actually smile that softly.

And even if he refuses to admit it, it makes his heartbeat abnormally fast every time he thinks of it.

Now, he can’t sleep. He just had a realization, but he sincerely prays to every deity out there that it’s not what he thinks he is. Just to make sure, he tells himself that it’s not what it is. Then he tells himself that again, but out loud.

Meanwhile, the cause of his inner turmoil is already deep in sleep, even having the nerve to snore loudly as if he’s the one who is tremendously tired. 

However, he’s still thankful for that annoying and stubborn roommate of his. 

The rest of the weekend blurs by as they spend the rest of it sleeping in and organizing the things Banri brought back to the dorm. Well, it wouldn’t be a normal day if there weren’t a few banter thrown in.

Monday morning comes in, and Banri wakes up to the smell of burning bread. 

Little did he know that the cook is having the same realization as he had two nights ago. Because only then did Juza realize he went straight to his “big brother mode” when he realized Banri has this problem that seems to be draining him. He feels so embarrassed that he forgets the bread he is supposed to flip. 

_ "Oi Hyodo, The bread is fucking burning! Jesus fuckin’... toast the bread, not our dorm!" _ Banri rushes in their kitchen and starts to fight Juza, as if he didn’t have a breakdown two nights ago.

_ "Look if you don’t want this, make one yourself, or fucking starve,” _ he retorts, as this is actually a routine for them already. The fighting of course, not the burning of breakfast.

_ ”Dude! Even the noodles are still fuckin’ raw! What the actual fuck?!” _

Juza just throws him the burnt toast and smiles to himself. Oh well, if he’s already this feisty and lively, he’s going to be fine. If he does ever feel unappreciated and alone again, he’ll smack him in the face just to remind him he’s neither of those two.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Omake: 

After giving up forcing himself to sleep, Banri whipped out his phone and texted his sister:

_ "Nee-chan" _

_ "Did you fight with mom and dad again?" _

_ "Woah. How did you know?" _

_ "Ban-chan, let’s be real, you don’t text me if you don’t have a problem." _

_ "Lol." _

_ "But yeah. Just keep in mind what I told you before. Don’t mind whatever those two said, it’s the senility talking. They’d get an earful from me when I drop by there, don’t worry," _

_ "Haha. Thanks." _

_ "No prob, Ban-chan. Just remember that your nee-chan’s here if you need anything else, okay?" _

_ "Okay. Thanks, really." _

_ "*Face throwing a kiss*" _

Banri also texted her when he realized what his roommate just did.

_ "Onee-chaaaaaan" _

_ "Oh, so now you have a crush?" _

_ "How the heck do you come up with these assumptions woman?!" _

He didn’t reply anymore as his face and ears heated up at the thought of liking the man snoring just below him.

**Author's Note:**

> And I hit you guys with a bit of fluff at the end. uwu.


End file.
